tell the time

phrase

British

: to be able to know what time it is by looking at a clock

My son is just learning to tell the time.

Examples of tell the time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just don’t ask them to tell the time. — Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026

The alarm clock is designed to function on a nightstand or dresser, contains a USB port to charge your phone, and has a digital display to easily tell the time. — Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026

Okay, so our cigarettes tell the time and more and more people in a porno are computer-generated. — Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025

Why Timepieces Still Matter in a Digital Age Luxury timepieces are meant to make a statement as much as to tell the time. — Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025

Meanwhile, most people tell the time by looking at their phones. — Rosa Rahimi, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2025

This creates the illusion that the mirror on the front can tell the time. — PCMAG, 12 Feb. 2025

Our electric servants do our laundry, wash our dishes, heat our homes, preserve and cook our food, and tell the time. — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2025

For decades, the UK, like almost every other country, has relied on global navigation satellite systems—signals from satellites orbiting in space—to tell the time accurately. — William Ralston, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2022

Rhymes for tell the time

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• overtime